“THE OPPOSITE OF RIGHT PART II”
Today, Lincoln Chafee announced his candidacy for Governor. The man who is “happy to be called liberal” (ProJo 10/14/09) offered Rhode Islanders what he called a “New Way Forward.” Rhode Islanders who are familiar with Chafee’s free spending fiscal record as Mayor of Warwick know that means simply more spending for special interests and more tax increases for the public. Based on Chafee’s record as Mayor, the “New Way Forward” has three simple steps:
STEP ONE: GIVE AWAY THE STORE TO THE PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS.
Described by the Providence Journal as “the biggest achievement of his early tenure in City Hall,” (ProJo 10/10/2000) Chafee gave a sweetheart deal to the Warwick Teachers’ Union in 1994 that taxpayers are still paying for today. In order to end a contract dispute Chafee simply gave up and gave in. He circumvented the Warwick School Committee and agreed with the Warwick Teachers Union to give teachers a 19.4 % pay raise with no health insurance premium co-share. The deal was so flawed that a former Warwick School Committee Chairperson was quoted as saying “the city taxpayers could not have done any worse” and that “[e]ven a monkey can manage to give everything away.” (ProJo 5/3/94 and 5/4/94).
STEP TWO: HAVE THE UNIONS RETURN THE FAVOR TO YOU
After Chafee cut this great deal for the teachers union in Warwick in 1994, the Providence Journal reported that “[i]t is no coincidence that the mayor raised money from various teachers unions across the state in September, within weeks of his settling the contract with the Warwick Teachers Union. The American Federation of Teachers, the parent of the local group, sent a note to other member unions in the state, saying Chafee helped the union with a good contract and suggesting the favor be returned.” (ProJo 1/6/95)
STEP THREE: RAISE TAXES AGAIN AND AGAIN TO PAY FOR ALL THIS
From 1994 through 1996, Chafee raised property taxes to pay for this sweetheart deal for the Warwick Teachers’ Union (ProJo 5/11/94, 5/24/94, 6/14/94, 5/25/95, 6/14/95, 5/31/96, 6/18/96). In fact, he raised taxes so much that the Democrat controlled City Council actually tried to freeze taxes in 1996, but Chafee, who now claims that he can bring people together, fought in Court in order to raises taxes again and stop a tax freeze (ProJo 6/18/96, and Sullivan v. Chafee 703 A.2d 748 (R.I.1997).
Said RIGOP Chair Giovanni Cicione, “Chafee’s ‘New Way Forward,’ is nothing more than a new way to label his proven lack of leadership and his proven tendencies to dodge hard choices.” “This is not a new way forward,” concluded Cicione, “but the same old backwards path to buying union votes by raising taxes on regular Rhode Islander’s.”
News Release: Rhode Island Republican Party
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